Hornets at Kings
The Charlotte Hornets continue to cling to playoff hopes, but they’ll need to beat the teams they’re supposed to beat and that includes Friday night’s game at the Sacramento Kings. The Hornets have lost four out of five, including a 113-106 home loss to the Kings last week, and sit a half-game behind the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East. Catching the Celtics seems to be the biggest obstacle, as they’ve won five of their last six.
Both the Hornets and Kings are coming off losses to the Clippers. The Kings went down 116-105 on Wednesday night and Charlotte lost 99-92 on Tuesday, a night after being held to season lows of 66 points and 23 field goals in a loss to the Utah Jazz. Sacramento seems to have raised the white flag on another season while losing four in a row and eight of nine, with the lone win in that span coming against Charlotte on March 11.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, SportSouth (Charlotte), CSN California (Sacramento)
ABOUT THE HORNETS (29-37): Charlotte avoided a major scare last week when Al Jefferson felt a pop in his calf early in the game against the Kings but only ended up missing one game. He was back to his usual self Tuesday night against the Clippers, scoring 21 points to better his season average of 17.2. Kemba Walker, who averages 17.9 points, is still rounding into form after missing 18 games with a knee injury and has put up an average of nine points in the four games since his return while shooting 10-for-39 from the field.
ABOUT THE KINGS (22-45): When the Kings beat the Hornets last week, they benefited from big games from DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay and Ben McLemore, all of whom scored at least 20 points. The matchup between Cousins and Jefferson at the center position is the most intriguing, as Jefferson is a sleek veteran with an assortment of post moves and Cousins has more power and length but is still learning to use his feet the way Jefferson does. Ray McCallum, a second-year point guard who has been starting in place of Darren Collison (hip), will also face a major challenge against 12-year veteran Mo Williams of the Hornets.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Hornets backup F Cody Zeller has missed the last four games with a shoulder injury.
2. The Hornets average a league low 11.9 turnovers.
3. McLemore is the only Sacramento player to appear in all 67 games this season.